Harry and Dudley Meet
by TooManyBeginnings
Summary: What if Harry and Dudley run into each other one day after the Wizard War. What would their reaction be? What had happened in the past years?


As Harry, Hermione, and Ron were walking around Liverpool on a day of leisure before Hermione became the Minister for Magic, they ran into someone Harry never thought he would see again. "Dudley!" Harry gasped.

Dudley looked up and saw his cousin. "Harry! What? I thought that you died! That is what we were told!"  
"You were told that for your own protection," Harry admitted. "But it is great seeing you again. How have you been?"

"I am alright. I am in uni right now," Dudley answered. There was an awkward silence between the both of them. After years of not really talking to each other, they had gotten used to it. Harry turned to his friends and back at his cousin and said, "I don't know if you remember, but this is Ron. During the fourth year of school, he and his brothers came to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's house to take me to the Quidditch World Cup that summer. And this is Hermione Granger, my other great friend from Hogwarts."

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Hermione said, stretching her hand out to Dudley.

"It is a pleasure to meet you too," Dudley replied timidly.

"Harry, Ron and I have someplace that we need to go to, are you alright if we leave you for a second?"

Harry looked at Hermione, knowing what she was doing. He gave her a smile. "Sure. Dudley, if you have time, why don't we grab a coffee or tea if you would like." Dudley looked shocked. He didn't think that Harry would like to since he had been so cold toward his cousin ever since they were growing up. He remembered the words that they spoke before both of his parents took him away from their childhood home.

"That would be nice," Dudley answered. "There is a good coffee shop just down the road." Hermione took Ron by the hand and they walked off after saying their good-byes and walked the opposite way. Harry followed Dudley to the coffee shop that he had spoken of. They ordered their drinks and sat down at the table. The waitress said that she would be right back with their drinks.

"So what has been going on since I last saw you?" Harry asked.

"Last year Vernon passed away. He had a heart attack. Petunia is doing okay. She and I are living near the Uni and I am helping her live there with jobs. She really misses her husband and doesn't really know what to do with herself."

"I am so sorry to hear that," Harry replied. Even though his uncle and aunt really didn't treat him well, some part of him knew that the only reason why they acted like that was because he was a Horcrux and a long time being around a Horcrux turned them mad, which he realized when the locket started to effect his best friend Ron for just a few months; and to think his aunt, uncle, and cousin spent more than eleven years with him! He forgave them on how they treated him while he was staying with him. To lighten the mood somewhat, he teased, "How is the pigtail going?"

To both of their surprise, Dudley started to laugh. Everybody in the tea house looked their way at how loud his laughter was. After composing himself, Dudley answered, "It is okay. Honestly, I haven't thought of that tail for a while."

"If you want, I can fix that for you," Harry offered. "Or, Hermione could do it. She is much better with magic than I am."

"Thank you for the offer. Are you sure that you could do that and not make me into a full pig?" he asked, lightly joking.

"Just in case, I would have Hermione fix that tail of yours. She is the best at magic."

"Better than you?" Dudley asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes, much better than me, I admit. Come, shall we go?" he asked after they were finished with their drinks. They paid for the drinks and went to meet up with Ron and Hermione. Harry told Hermione of the situation, making Hermione chuckle a little at Hagrid and promised Dudley that she could, in fact, get rid of that tail of his and that it would not cause him any pain.

They went to Dudley's house and Hermione fixed the pigtail. "Funny, I don't know what I would do with myself now. That tail has been with me for almost a decade now," he laughed gently. There was a knock on the door and the door opened. It was Aunt Petunia. She had returned from the market. She gasped, seeing her nephew. She never thought that she would see him again.

"Harry, I thought that you had died! We had not heard from you in years."

"No Aunt Petunia, it is I, alive and well."

"Well to say that this is a shock is an understatement. I never thought that we would see you again. Whether because of deeds from the war and the way that we treated you," Aunt Petunia said. Harry looked into his aunt's eyes and saw that there was great sadness in them. Not just the sadness for the husband that she lost, but also the sadness, knowing how horrible she was toward Harry. She knew that she was just jealous because of her sister because when her parents found out that Lily was a witch, she had all the attention. And then she got murdered, Petunia was tasked with taking care of her nephew and she had to face her sister's eyes every single day for years and the hurt and the pain and the jealousness coursed through her veins.

"I am so sorry for all the pain that I caused you," she apologized.

"Aunt Petunia, it was not your fault. But if it makes you feel better, I do forgive you and Uncle Vernon for how I was treated when I was younger. Dudley said that he had passed. I am sorry. I know you loved each other a great deal. And if it makes you feel any better, I do not think that you meant the pain that you caused, not really. We found out on our trip that the Horcruxes made you be out of character so it could not all be on you."

They had ended up spending supper there and Hermione had been able to help Dudley with his pigtail. He was grateful for it to be gone, but he was also feeling like a little bit part of him was gone. That tail had been part of his life since he was eleven years old, so for about ten years, that tail was part of him. At Ginny's request, she asked Dudley and Petunia to join them for her's and Harry's wedding. They had surprised them both by saying that they would. Harry did not expect that but was happy nonetheless to have some sort of family there on their wedding day, although through the years, Molly Weasley became very much a mother figure, knitting scarves, and sweaters for him, making enough food so he would not starve.


End file.
